Whitworth tries to break new ground
HUSKIES, VANDALS, EAGLES, PIRATES
This may well be the biggest Saturday in Whitworth football history. If the 10th-ranked Pirates can travel to McMinnville, Ore., and defeat 15th-ranked Linfield, the Northwest Conference title and its ensuing automatic NCAA Division III playoff berth is theirs.
But Whitworth hasn't won at Linfield since most yuppies were in high school and it won't be easy – Linfield has dominated the NWC recently and is still undefeated in conference play. The Wildcats have posted 51 consecutive winning seasons, an NCAA record for any level of play. The game starts at 1 p.m. (KSBN 1230-AM radio coverage).
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Weber State will host Eastern today without coach Ron McBride, suspended by the Big Sky for criticizing the officiating after last week's game.
Will that help or hurt?
This is a personal aside, so you can skip this if you want: When I was a senior at UC Irvine, we played at Cal State Northridge in a baseball game. Our head coach, Eddie Allen, was in Florida on business (coaching was a sidelight) so I took the lineup card to home plate. The CSUN coach asked "where's Eddie?" I answered that he was in Florida. The coach's response? "That's a break for you guys." I do believe we won.
So maybe not having McBride will be a break for Weber. The game starts at noon (1510-AM). Also, check Dave Trimmer's blog for more info.
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After last week's debacle in Hawaii, the Vandals will take any break they can get. But it won't be easy with Nevada coming to the Kibbie Dome (2 p.m.; 790-AM, 1080-AM).
The Vandals will be trying for their first win over a Division I school with a winning record. They will also be trying to take another step toward a winning season.
For more, check out Jim Meehan's blog.
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There's almost a million stories available about today's UW at Oregon game – OK that's hyperbole (or is it exaggeration?) but there are a lot. My favorite this week was about the expected traffic jams on Interstate 5.
Anyhow, here is the story we ran about the game (12:30 p.m.; TBS). And here is the Times advance, the P-I's and the News Tribune's.
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I'm off to a hoops game, then on to Pullman. When I get there, I'll link to other stuff, like college basketball (UW won its exhibition game last night) and pro basketball (more on Adam Morrison and on Ronny Turiaf's second consecutive big game – what a smile).